


Who's With Us Now?

by falling_upwards_01



Category: The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals - Team StarKid
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Anxiety Disorder, Canon-Typical Violence, Eventual Happy Ending, F/F, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, headcanons are everywhere, sorta - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-22
Updated: 2019-01-30
Packaged: 2019-10-14 10:48:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17507171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/falling_upwards_01/pseuds/falling_upwards_01
Summary: Alice has her own story to tell.If only someone would share it.orAlice's perspective from TGWDLM.Title: Who's With Us by Current Swell





	1. He Calls Her Up on the Telephone

**Author's Note:**

> This is basically an account of the events of The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals from Alice's point of view but also with lots of headcanons of my own plus an alternate ending because Alice and Bill (and all of them basically) deserve happiness.

The vibrations of the bus made Alice even more sleepy than she already was. The low humming of the engine combined with the background chatter from the passengers on the bus was soothing, and it almost sent her to sleep. She stifled a yawn, then forced herself to sit upright. She couldn't fall asleep. Not yet. This was her last chance to spend time with her dad before she went back to Clivesdale.

It had been a long day at school. She was tired, and the last thing she wanted to do at the moment was deal with her dad’s dorky jokes and feeble attempts at being “cool.” She was excited to see Mamma Mia with him and Deb, but she was also looking forward to sleep. She had taken the bus to Hatchetfield High to meet with Deb before the musical started, and so they could take the bus to the Starlight Theater together.

As the bus screeched to a stop, Alice made her way to the front, exiting the vehicle and beginning her walk from the bus stop to school. It was a short walk, but the dense grey clouds smothering the sky were threatening to rain on her, so she tried to walk as quickly as possible. Sure enough, almost as soon as she reached Hachetfield High, it began to sprinkle. Alice quickly stepped inside.

She texted her girlfriend and asked her if she was at school still. She knew it was likely, as Deb usually met with the smoke club after school. Her girlfriend had confided in her later that she didn’t actually like the smoke club, but they paid a ridiculous amount of money for her shitty weed, so she stuck around them to earn a little extra cash. This normally would bother Alice, but the excess money her girlfriend made usually went into her college fund or to help her brother pay rent, so Alice could understand why she did it.

Alice suspected she would be at the normal meeting location for the smoke club, and so began to walk in that direction. Moments later, her phone buzzed. Deb had answered, and confirmed that she was, in fact, still at school, and she was, as expected, in the normal meeting location. Alice continued walking to the location, a small alleyway between the bleachers and the backside of the science wing. She turned the corner, and sure enough, Deb and the other two members of the smoke club were leaning idly against the wall. When her girlfriend caught sight of her, her face lit up.

“Alice!” Deb pulled her into a hug. When she moved away, Alice smiled warmly.

“Hey,” She said, just as her phone started ringing. It was her dad. “Ahh, sorry,” she raised her phone screen for Deb to see. Her girlfriend read the contact name and nodded understandingly. Alice excused herself and took a step away from the smoking teens. She picked up just in time to hear her father yell at another driver on the road. When he realized she had picked up, he quickly apologized.

“I’m so sorry, Alice. Some people clearly don’t know how to drive in the rain.”

“It’s fine, dad.” She sighed. “What’s up? Why did you call me?”

“Oh, I’m just curious if you wanted me to pick you up? It’s raining quite a bit.”

“No dad, it’s fine.” She resisted the instinct to roll her eyes.

“Are you sure? It’s raining cats and dogs out there!”

“No, dad.”

“Okay...” There was a moment of silence.

“Did you get a ticket for Deb?” Alice asked in spite of herself.

“Yes, I got a ticket for Deb.” Her dad answered. “And guess where we’re going after the show? Your favourite restaurant!”

“What?” Alice said, confused.

“Red Lobster!” Her dad exclaimed excitedly. Alice ground her teeth together.

“Dad, what about Deb?” She tried not to sound as frustrated as she was.

“Yeah, I know she’s vegetarian, they have fish!” Alice groaned inwardly.

“Dad, she’s VEGAN.”

“Vegan? Alice, it’s Crab Fest, you’re killing me!”

“I’m sorry dad, it’s not _ my  _ fault you keep forgetting!”

“I’m sure they will have vegan options for Deb.” Her dad paused. “I’m sorry I forgot. I’ll keep trying.” His voice seemed genuinly regretful. Alice sighed, but still let a small smile tug at the corners of her lips.

“It’s okay, dad. I love you.”

“I love you too.  _ Mamma Mia! _ starts at 7, so you should probably get on the bus at around 6:35.”

“Okay, dad. We’ll meet you at the theatre. Bye.”

“Bye.” Her dad hung up. She stuffed her phone in her pocket and took a step back towards the group.

After a moment of silence, one of the other kids, a tall, lanky guy with stringy black hair gestured to Alice.

“C’mon Alice, take a hit!” He beckoned her over.

“Oh, uh, I don’t think I ought to.” She smiled politely. Deb piped up as well.

“Yeah, guys, she doesn’t have to if she doesn’t want to.” 

“That’s not how it works, Deb!” The boy continued, “You’re either in the smoke club or you’re out!” Deb scowled.

“Well then maybe we’re out.” Deb slung her arm around Alice’s shoulders. “C’mon Alice let’s go. Those guys are assholes anyway.” Alice was a little bit startled by Deb’s protectiveness, but she simply smiled lightly and nodded, brushing her hair out of her face. She didn’t have the energy to do anything else.

They walked through the halls towards the front of the school, managing to secure a route that kept them out of the rain AND positioned them to be able to walk the shortest distance between the school and the bus stop. Then, all of a sudden, a flash of white, then green, then blue light shone down from the sky. 

"Woah." Deb squinted and pointed up at the sky. "What is that?" Alice strained her eyes as well, but she couldn't quite make anything of whatever she was seeing.

A loud whistling sound came from the atmosphere as a ball of blue...something, hurtled down towards them.

 


	2. Losing Track of the Week

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is just a little bit of a look into Alice and Deb's backgrounds (which for the record is a lot of headcanonning)

 

Alice knew in her heart that it wasn’t her dad’s fault. She knew he was trying his best to reconnect with her. But truth be told, she wished he’d stop trying so hard. She just wanted to spend time with him, to get to know him better, and for him to get to know her. But his elaborate scheme of outdoing her mother just ended up forcing her to anticipate a night of silence at the Starlight theatre, watching the touring production of  _ Mamma Mia!. _

The worst part about all of it? They hadn’t even been able to see it because of that stupid meteor!

She couldn’t figure out quite why she was so angry. It did seem a little unreasonable to be so furious about something that was completely out of her dad’s control. But the fire that had been slowly smouldering inside her only grew as she leaned her head against the window of the bus headed to Clivesdale. 

Cigarette smoke wafted through the air. The stench reminded her of Deb, which only fueled her rage towards her father. He was always criticizing Deb, and it was clear he didn’t approve of Alice dating her. She just wished he’d give Deb a chance to show him how amazing she was. She had hoped that last night would have initiated a breakthrough in their relationship, but clearly, she had lost that opportunity. 

As the bus rattled to a stop, and the doors shuddered open, An idea popped into Alice’s head. This was the last stop before the bus would leave Hatchetfield. Her anger was now boiling inside of her, and in a moment of defiance, she stood up and walked to the front of the bus. For a moment, she hesitated. Then she made her way down the steps. 

The bus doors closed and the vehicle pulled away. Alice got an intense feeling of deja vu. It was only yesterday that she had walked down those same steps, with the intent of accomplishing the same thing. She pushed her slight unease down and focused on her purpose of returning: She was going to see Deb.

She walked briskly to the school, texting Deb along the way to ask her if she was, once again, still at school. Deb, of course, was still at school, although not with the smoke club like she usually was. She said she was outside the library instead.

Alice couldn’t help but be on edge while walking through the empty halls of Hatchetfield High. The only sounds audible were her own light scuffing footsteps that echoed all around her. She focused on breathing in time with every fourth step, a trick Uncle Paul had taught her when she was younger. He always said it helped calm him down when he felt nervous or overwhelmed and suggested she use it when she felt the same way. At the time, her being around 11, she thought she would never need it. But lately, it had become a crutch to her to keep her from having anxiety attacks every day.

In. Out. In. Out. In. Out.

Before she knew it, she had reached the library. Sure enough, Deb was sitting criss-cross beside the double door entrance, her earbuds in and eyes closed, clearly enraptured in her music. Alice smiled. She loved seeing her girlfriend in her element. She looked so calm and serene. Seeing her like this was enough to fully calm Alice down. She squatted in front of Deb and gently placed her hands on Deb’s knees, partially for balance and partially to get Deb’s attention.

Her girlfriend’s eyes snapped open. It only took her a moment to register Alice in front of her and to launch forward and pull Alice into a hug.

“Alice!” Despite being unable to see Deb’s face, Alice could hear the smile in her voice. Alice laughed at her girlfriend’s enthusiasm.

“Hey!” She pulled away from the hug, pecking Deb on the lips before plopping down beside her.

“Are you okay? I thought you were going to Clivesdale today?” Deb asked, worry creeping into her voice. Alice smile once again and blushed at Deb’s concern.

“I’m fine, I just...my dad was being...himself.” She looked down at the ground for a moment. “I didn’t really feel like dealing with it all today.” Deb nods.

“I get it.” Those three words warm Alice’s heart. One of her favourite things about Deb is the fact that, unlike both of her parents, when Alice talks about her issues, Deb rarely offers a solution unless asked. She always listens, and nods along, and offers support, but she never tries to fix it.

She and Deb had a very strange dynamic. It really was like two halves which made a whole, both with their personalities and their backgrounds. Alice was from an upper-middle-class family which looked good on the outside but was broken on the inside. Deb was from a struggling lower class family which looked broken on the outside but was pure and good on the inside.

Alice was an only child. It was and had always been just her, her mom, and her dad. She never had to worry about paying rent or if there would be food on the table, or even how she would get to school. She never doubted that her parents could take care of her. But every second she spent in their house, both before and after the divorce was finalized, she felt like the atmosphere was suffocating her. Her parents were always fighting, and when they weren’t fighting, they were sulking. Everything felt stiff and forced. It didn’t even really feel like a home. It just felt like a random building which she had no attachment to.

Deb’s family consisted of her mom, her dad, her older and younger brothers, their cousin and uncle, and their dog. Deb had, on many occasions, confided in Alice that she didn’t know if they would make the payment that month for their apartment. There were many times where Deb’s family went without utilities for months on end to save money, living without electricity or water. Deb was often late to school because she missed the bus and had to walk all the way across town. But they were a family. And they acted like one. Alice had been to Deb’s apartment several times, and even with the four bedroom two bathroom space, they made it work. Her family was kind, and polite, and homey.

“Hey,” Deb’s voice breaks Alice out of her thoughts, “Are you sure you’re okay?” Alice stares at her for a moment, then laughs.

“Uh, yeah, sorry, just…” She pauses, then smiles, “Just thinking.” Deb looks at her a bit weirdly. Then she smiles warmly.

"Okay."

**Author's Note:**

> Please please please leave a comment and/or give feedback!


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